Your own Abstract Language

Sometimes there are no words, no images that can fully express what lives within our souls, and this is where the magic of abstract art comes in! What if you could express your truth and tell your stories through art, YOUR way? Are you ready to unveil your own abstract language?

Here are some key lessons from my new class Soulful Abstracts!

Color

Color is often the first thing that speaks to us in a painting, even from afar. Color instantly creates a connection. It’s intuitive and immediate. That’s why uncovering your own personal color palette is so important to create authentic art that feels like home to your heart, and creates this connection with others.

That being said, it’s also super fun to experiment with colors that feel a little less comfortable and see if we can widen our palette of emotions! In Soulful Abstracts we will also stretch our creative muscles by "borrowing" a color palette to see how it feels... Working with this yellow (below) was a challenge for me, but it gently expanded my comfort zone! I can't wait to see what the students will create from this little project.

When a tiny scrap from a magazine page inspires a whole series of mini artworks!

Mark-making

One of the things that truly make our art original and unique, is mark-making. The way we make our marks is as personal as our fingerprints. In Soulful Abstracts, we're going to do plenty of mark-making experiments, then use our favorite bits as collage papers to create dreamy little abstracts!

We will also play with doodles and personal symbols, dancing our way between abstract... and not so abstract!

Texture

Texture is what creates a more subtle and intimate connection with your viewers. It draws them closer to your painting, making them want to touch it (they will often reach out, then catch themselves just in time!) In Soulful Abstracts, after experimenting with dimensional effects in our workbooks, we will create a delightful little series where color takes a step back to let the beauty of textured materials shine!

I’m often most attracted to art that has a very touchable quality. I get my daily dose of yumminess on Instagram and Pinterest, where I follow artists who work with fiber, plaster, knitting and ceramics… So inspiring! (I’m sharing my favorites in the class).

Composition

If color, texture and mark-making can be seen as the “vocabulary” of our artistic language, then composition is the grammar! And like grammar, it can feel a bit daunting and complicated (although I have to confess, I have always loooved grammar).

What if the "rules" were really only tools at our service to help us tell our stories? What if we trusted our intuition a lot more, and realized that there are no mistakes, only possibilities? In the composition lesson of Soulful Abstracts, we are going to find our way between randomness and mindfulness, so that we can tune in and make conscious choices, while staying open to serendipity...

What’s next?

Once we have started to unveil our personal abstract language, and anchored what we’ve learned by working in a series, we are going to take it all to the next level, using everything we have discovered in some bigger painting projects! Of course, this is just a beginning, and practice is the key!

If you would like to explore your abstract language in much more detail, I would love to be your guide in Soulful Abstracts! Registration has just opened and there’s an early bird discount until the end of the weekend. Seats are filling fast!

Below is a sneak peek at the class, find out more and join this unique journey here:

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